Nurse residents sit back-to-back at the Museum of Fine Arts during an activity focused on effective communication techniques.

On a recent morning in April, John Rycroft, BSN, RN, was hard at work — but not on Braunwald Tower 8AB, which he joined about 10 months ago as a newly licensed nurse. Rather, he was at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, studying the details of a work of art encompassing pottery and vases.

“I had to try to explain it to a colleague who didn’t get to look at it, and from my description, they had to try to draw it,” he said.

The unusual exercise was part of a seminar on effective communication at the MFA for 19 nurse residents in the Nora McDonough Nurse Residency Program. The seminar was created through a partnership between Nursing and the Visual Arts in Healthcare Program at BWH, an innovative program that focuses on visual arts education and research for health care team members.

“Our goal was for residents to develop a deeper understanding of effective communication techniques through three activities focused on works of art,” said Mary Anne Murphy Kenyon, DNP, MPH, MS, RN, ONC, director of the nurse residency program. “Literature tells us that miscommunication is responsible for a significant number of preventable medical errors. It is imperative to patient quality and safety that the medical teams connect through language and communication to best care for our patients.”

The sketching exercise helped nurse residents think about and practice effective communication techniques. In reflecting on the exercise, Rycroft saw connections with handoff communication.

“It’s almost like giving a report on a patient,” he said. “The perspective you see it from might not be the same as someone else. You could go into certain details but end up leaving out others that are more important. It was challenging to communicate it so the person drawing the picture could understand. I think it has helped me to improve my handoff communication and structure my thoughts a little more so that it’s easier for the receiving nurse to follow.”

Brooke DiGiovanni Evans speaks with nurse residents during a seminar at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Throughout the day, nurse residents worked in small groups with two assigned facilitators: a museum educator and a nurse leader from the residency program. “This collaboration was a good opportunity for each facilitator to bring their expertise and experience to the discussion and make connections back to clinical practice for the residents,” said Brooke DiGiovanni Evans, EdM, director and co-founder of the Visual Arts in Healthcare Program.

Another activity included viewing a piece of art without knowing anything about it and sharing insights with the group.

“Nobody wanted to talk first, but once someone broke the ice, everyone started talking,” Rycroft said. “We really listened to each other and piggybacked on what others said. It showed the team-oriented approach to figuring out what’s going on, just as the care of patients is very team-oriented with a lot of roles and different perspectives working together focused on the patient.”

The nurse residents shared positive feedback on the seminar in an evaluation survey. “They cited how the seminar helped with making intentional observations, navigating uncertainty, noticing details, being aware of biases and respecting different viewpoints,” Kenyon said. “I think the experience exceeded our expectations. All the nurses were engaged and open and shared wonderful insight as we navigated the successes and failures of communication.”

The last activity of the seminar invited the nurses to identify a piece of art that spoke to their professional role or a value they wanted to embrace. Rycroft selected a piece of art that included a chain at the center.

“I chose that because, on the night shift, you really rely on each other,” he said. “The chain holds everything together.